The #42 Album of All-Time in the Rock Era--"No Jacket Required" by Phil Collins

We just analyzed the Genesis album Invisible Touch at #42.  Here is former Genesis member Phil Collins at #42 with No Jacket Required.

The album held down the #1 position on the album chart for seven weeks, but just as important, it was #2 for 10 weeks and #3 for five more.  All told, No Jacket Required spent 31 weeks in the Top 10 and 123 (over two years) on the album chart.  It has incredible sales figures of 12 million, but the Track Rating* is down a bit at 8.68.






Collins didn't transfer his Genesis success into superstardom overnight--this was his third solo release.  Four singles ("One More Night", "Sussudio", "Don't Lose My Number" and "Take Me Home") propped up the album.  The first two went to #1 but all were Top 10.  "Long Long Way to Go" is another excellent track while "Only You Know and I Know" and "Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore" are quality songs as well.  Additionally, "Inside Out" and "The Man with the Horn" received album airplay.

No Jacket Required was honored at the Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, Producer of the Year (shared by Hugh Padgham and Collins) and Best Male Vocal Performance.  "One More Night" was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Video Short Form at the Grammies.  Collinsas nominated for Favorite Male Pop Video Artist and Favorite Album at the American Music Awards.  All of those honors helped No Jacket Required reach #42. 

The album was #1 in Canada, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland as well.  The international success will bear fruit when Inside the Rock Era presents The Top 100 Albums in the World*.


No Jacket Required:
(All songs written by Phil Collins unless otherwise noted.)

1.    "Sussudio" --4:23
2.    "Only You Know and I Know" (Collins and Daryl Stuermer) --4:20
3.    "Long Long Way to Go" --4:20
4.    "I Don't Wanna' Know" (Collins, Stuermer) --4:12
5.    "One More Night" --4:47
6.    "Don't Lose My Number" --4:46
7.    "Who Said I Would" --4:01
8  .  "Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore" (Collins, Stuermer) --4:18
9.    "Inside Out" --5:14
10.  "Take Me Home" --5:51
11.  "We Said Hello Goodbye" (only on CD) --4:15



Collins played drums, percussion ,bass guitar, keyboard, the Roland 808 and 909, the Linn drum machine, the Simmons, the vocoder and kalimba.  Daryl Stuermer played guitar and keyboards on the album, Lee Sklar played bass while David Frank played keyboards, Mini Moog Bass and Oberheim DMX.  The Phenix Horns and Gary Barnacle and Don Myrick on saxophone also contributed.  Sting sang backing vocals on "Long Long Way To Go" and "Take Me Home", former Genesis member Peter Gabriel and Helen Terry also sang backup on "Take Me Home". 

No Jacket Required was recorded from May to December of 1984 and mixed at the Townhouse in London and Old Croft in Surrey, England.  Collins helped with production and album design, Hugh Padgham was the producer and engineer and Peter Ashworth provided cover photography.  The album was released on January 25, 1985 on Atlantic Records.


Phil Collins places No Jacket Required at #42 for the Rock Era.